Not every autumn fright adventure needs to scare players. From beloved classics such as Scooby-Doo to delightful stories such as Over the Garden Wall, plenty of autumn-inspired titles provide fun without causing fear. Moreover, a growing library of ghostly-adorable titles with autumn atmosphere, yet without the keep-you-awake level of horror. Gloomy Eyes debuted in recent months, and serves as an superb relaxing alternative to the deeply scary titles of this year.
A Unique Single-Player Cooperative Quest
Labeled as a “self-coop” puzzle game, Gloomy Eyes pairs up a zombie boy known as Gloomy and a living girl called Nena as they start an mission to return daylight to their shadowy environment. Their appearance evokes Funko Pops combined with the puppets from a Laika film. The light-complected and baggy-eyed style borrows heavily from the appearance of Gothic fantasy movies, and the story is a archetypal suitable for everyone tale. These two builds an unbreakable bond over the course of the game’s multiple stages as Nena tries to show to her religious guardian that, hey, perhaps zombies can be friendly.
Innovative Puzzle Mechanics
This unique description originates from the game’s world-based challenges. After Gloomy and Nena meet, you’ll swap between the budding companions to solve puzzles and progress through the areas. Since he's not alive, Gloomy is unable to traverse through the light of a streetlight, while Nena can be captured by idle zombies except if a light is directed on them.
It's necessary for them to work in tandem — actually, gamers operate them simultaneously — to finish levels. Nena might relocate or briefly disable lights to clear paths for Gloomy, while the intellectually curious boy will employ his undead power to shift around obstacles in the surroundings, creating ways for Nena.
Immersive Level Design
The puzzles remind me a bit of The Gardens Between, in the fashion the areas are hovering, miniature structures that the camera pans around in sync with your heroes. Gloomy Eyes’ worlds are quite fun, guiding the friends around a carnival and through a haunted house, amid other locations. The game includes a “diorama view” button that enables you to pull back and spin the stages, both for enjoy the artwork and look for routes that may not have been apparent.
Small Challenges and Overall Adventure
This represents one of the sole problems with Gloomy Eyes. Comparable to other titles with a fixed perspective, sometimes it's unclear where the heroes may or may not travel. Players might have to simply collide with a several various elements to figure out which ones are interactable, as it’s not always intuitive.
Nonetheless, those small challenges don't obstruct of a spooky-cute good time. Gloomy Eyes runs on the short side, with about three to five hours worth of brain-teasers. Later levels combine subtle stealth and dynamic sequences with the puzzle solving, as Gloomy Eyes marches toward a fulfilling — and moderately unforeseen — ending.
Availability and Final Thoughts
Gamers steering clear of the scares of intense horror releases should definitely try Gloomy Eyes. The game is out on Nintendo platform, PlayStation 5, PC, and Xbox, and is currently on sale for a discount on game marketplaces.
Gloomy Eyes has been released on various systems and delivers a delightful option for gamers looking for Halloween fun without the intense scares.
